Chapter 18 Shloka 33

धृत्या यया धारयते मन:प्राणेन्द्रियक्रिया:।

योगेनाव्यभिचारिण्या धृति: सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी।।३३।।

O Partha! That unalloyed steadfastness

by which an individual controls

the activities of the mind,

the praanas and the sense organs,

is a sattvic steadfastness.

Chapter 18 Shloka 33

धृत्या यया धारयते मन:प्राणेन्द्रियक्रिया:।

योगेनाव्यभिचारिण्या धृति: सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी।।३३।।

Now Bhagwan speaks of three types of determination:

O Partha! That unalloyed steadfastness by which an individual controls the activities of the mind, the praanas and the sense organs, is a sattvic steadfastness.

Little Abha, desirous of the right understanding of the attributes, first know what yoga is:

Yoga

1. Yoga is a union of two.

2. Indivisible identification is yoga.

3. The union of two to form one with homogenous attributes is yoga.

4. When the tendencies of one’s mind-stuff are transcended, yoga is attained. (Ref. Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Sutra 1: ‘Chit vritti nirodha yoga’.)

5. That is, yoga is attained when there is a complete absence of selfish desire in the mind-stuff.

6. Then only one remains – the one with whom one has identified.

7. Success in yoga becomes evident when one achieves perfection in interpersonal relationships.

8. This leads to a unified approach to duties.

9. A consequence of yoga is the assumption of similar attributes.

10. A consequence of yoga is the assumption of a similar character or nature.

The Glory of the Divine Name

1. If you truly desire the Supreme Yoga, even though your name may differ from that of your Supreme Master, it is only His Divine Name which reverberates within you instead of the epithet ‘I’.

2. Then That Divine One rules over your body.

3. From the moment the true sadhak invokes the Divine Name, he engages only in such actions as his Master would have performed had he inhabited the sadhak’s body.

4. What would Ram have done had He been in a similar circumstance? The true aspirant engages only in such deeds.

5. The Lord’s Name is glorified only if the aspirant who has taken that Name becomes the living embodiment of that divine Name.

6. The Lord’s Name is enlivened when He becomes the Master of your live body.

a) This is the culmination of yoga.

b) This is the easy method of moksha or emancipation.

c) This is the process of becoming liberated even whilst still alive.

d) This is union with the Supreme.

One who makes such yoga his aim imbibes the attitude and emulates the deeds performed by his Divine Preceptor with undiluted determination. The very path of yoga is love.

My dearest little one, now understand the connotation of Avyabhichari.

Avyabhichari (अव्यभिचारी)

1. One who does not indulge in transgressions.

2. One who does not desire unity with anyone except the divine Master.

3. One who does not embrace anyone other than his divine Loved One.

4. One who loves none other than That Divine One.

5. One who desires supreme union with His Divine Master with a one pointed determination.

6. One whose mind does not revel in anything other than the thoughts of his Master.

7. One whose heart retains no other desire than union with his Divine Master.

8. One whose heart retains no other visage than that of his Divine Preceptor.

9. One who is the repository of all the virtues and who ever engages in good deeds.

10. One who abides in his Divine Beloved with firm devotion.

11. One whose devotion is undiluted.

12. One whose devotion can be likened to the purity of the Ganga.

The one who possesses such an unblemished intellect also possesses devotion that is chaste and untarnished.

Little one, great determination and resolve are the necessary pre-requisites of such a pure aspiration.

In order to become like the Lord, a man must:

a) renounce many concepts and convictions;

b) offer up his cherished desires at the altar of His Divine Beloved.

If the activities of one’s mind are to simulate those of the Lord, it is necessary to silence the current trends of thoughts that infiltrate the mind. Then even one’s contact with sense objects will be ruled by what the Lord Himself would have done. Then one’s life breath will belong to the Lord, the body no longer being one’s own.

My dearest Kamla, if you give your body to the Lord whilst still alive, the Lord will come to abide in your body. You can invoke the Lord only through the live body. Only then can He command you, only then will you be able to fulfil your duties. In order to accomplish this, the aspirant:

a) needs a high degree of determination;

b) needs extreme faith and trust in the Lord;

c) needs, in his resolve to unite with the Supreme, a firm and unshakeable abidance in the Truth;

d) needs mental forbearance to strengthen his resolve to attain supreme union;

e) needs the determination without which it is impossible for his life to become akin to the Lord’s life, which is the essence of yagya.

It is said that the one desirous of yoga has a sattvic determination.

Dhriti (धृति)

1. Forbearance.

2. Resolution of the mind.

3. A firm resolve.

4. To partake of.

5. To support, contentment.

6. To maintain stability.

(For a further elucidation of Dhriti, see Chp.16, shloka 3 and Chp.18, shloka 56)

Avyabhichari Dhriti (अव्यभिचारी धृति)

1. Avyabhichari dhriti is a firm conviction in the Lord.

2. Avyabhichari dhriti is attained when an aspirant, imbued with a firm resolve, performs all his tasks with his concentration focused relentlessly on the Supreme.

3. Dhriti is to dwell single-mindedly upon the object of one’s devotion for a long period of time.

4. Sattvic dhriti has a single goal worth knowing and achieving.

Sattvic Dhriti (सात्त्विक धृति)

1. Such a resolute and one-pointed aspirant, who progresses single-mindedly towards his aspired goal with body, mind and soul, possesses a sattvic dhriti.

2. His every thought process and action is devoted to the Lord.

3. His every thought process and action takes him closer to his divine Beloved.

4. His every thought process and action invokes the Lord’s beauteous qualities.

5. He can do nothing that will distance him from his Lord.

Such a one is not attached to any gross or subtle sense object.

He has but one goal:

1. His mind can have no other desire.

2. His body can engage in no other action.

3. His intellect can reason in no other way.

His body is alive only to attain union with the divine Beloved. His mind, his life breath, his sense faculties are all governed by his firm and resolute determination for yoga with his divine Beloved.